Pencil-point sharpener



Dec. 15, 1941. q I; MAR'TIN 2,266,562

PENCAIL-POINT SHARPENER Filed Oct. 21, 1940 3nventor a George D, Marfln z I U I Gttomegs Patented Dec. 16, 1941 UNITED PATENT ore-ice mnemmom'r sme ma George I3: Martin, Olympia-Wash; Applicationtictofiefzl, 1940, semi N6;- scam I ton-ms; (01.112641) cut away or worn away with an ahrasiife: It It? is scarcely feasible, however, thusfid"-SF1 3iIfpT1 the point of a lead which is projected front the tip of a mechanical pencil; that is; a pencil wherein leads are advanced or held within abarrel of metal or the like; fOrit-is'nct' desirable to perm-it the abrasive to come-into Contact the tip of the barrel, and" yet} iti's' s arcely ii-easi ble tosharpen the" point itself, withkrlownsh eners, without contact of the abrasive? the tip of the barrel at the same time it contacts? with the projecting point of fleadf fiecaus'e df' this difficulty of providing a fine" point upon the lead of mechanical pencils; these "1eads"' have been made thin, so that they camgct-wearwm extremeiy liro'ad point, but even thi-si'Suh'saitfifactory, for the point cannot 'bemade ndr' kept fili and sharp, and-the tlii'l'i' kinds are more easily broken than those which are thicker; arid aremore expensive to produce, in part Because of their greater fragility.

Itis' a primary Object of the presenti'nvn tion to provide" a pencil" poi-ntsharpener for; use specifically with mechanical pencils, Whfchiwill enable the quick and easy sharpening of} the point of the lead by an abrasive withoutthe possibility of injury to theti-p of, the pencilsbarrel. a

Morespecifically it is an 'object to provide such a pencil point sharpener for use with ic'al pencil-s, which isof Such small size that-it may be carried bythe end of the pencil; and may in turn support an eraser such as is commonly used with some suchpencil's, tothe endthat the entire assembly of pencil and sharpener, and, if used; erase'r also, may be of nomaterial-y greater size in any dimension 'tl'ian the normal pencil, and to the final end that the sharpener may be carried always-- by and be avaiietiefor use with the pencil ne'eddl pent sharpenerwhich can at n'e'ecfbe disasserir bacteria-repairer or' other parts substituted, particular one which permits the substitution for a were out abrasive surr'aceof a" fresh abrasive i surface.

invention comprises the novel parts-and" arrangement" thereof; as' shown in the-accompalri-yin g' drawing; and} as will be described in this specification, and those constructions which are never will he pointed out in" the appended claims; v

Figure I- section throu h the device, showing it in operative relationship to the: pein-t of a, mechanical pencil. V

Figure 2 is air end tiew or the sharpener.

Figure ih an-eiiplddedview of the sharpener ssociated parts, azid ofthe" pencil which My friveritibn has no concern with thestruc tare cfthe mcnanicai pencil,- norwith the rhea t support-6r feed the lead through it. xtener of the barrel 5 of such a pencil tgie't with itstapered tip- Stand, iiifigure: 5, opposite end 5| ,"Wh'1 0l1*Wfl1 l referred to later:- Eronrtnetip- 50 protrudes the pncir point-4. prdble'rnis tic-provide a fiii ll li'oh' the lead 4', such as mustrated in Figure 1, and to avoid scratenin or otherwise marking or rtiafi i'ng tli'-hafifel s tip end-ct tnesieeve I Dl's'posgf' ait -tl iis' end or the sleeve mu aposttion to" opsnuct erararme a guard: a fonts guard is" apertarec, y" the slit my ex eraslly radial direction; and: this. guard: is supported for rotation. coaxialfy of the" sleeve I; To this it? ay be secured upon: the end all a;-

the construction and arrangement of shelf a pencil point sharpener for such use he's'o-sm-all" simple that it will pefiiiit the accomplishment of the other objects already named.

form or 9; reduce; sleeve on extension upon an inner sleeve 6. The pivot pin 3| may be headed,- as indicated so; with-the head received within a chamber 60 of the sleeve 6. A slight dimple An associated object is to provide such a pencil 5 I3 in the external sleeve I, or any equivalent means, may serve to limit inward projection of the sleeve 6, if necessary. This sleeve 6 may be slit, as seen in Figure 3, so that by its resilience it will fit snugly and friction-tight within the external sleeve l at the end opposite the abrasivecoated interior surface at 2.

The parts are so proportioned that when thus assembled the guard 3 obstructs entrance to the one end of the sleeve I, but it is bifurcated, and its slit 30 is of such width as to admit. the lead 4, but to obstruct entrance of the larger enclosing tip 50 of the barrel, the end of which abuts the outer face of the guard 3, as is illustrated in Figure 1. greater or less degree from the barrels tip 50.

If but slightly projected the conicaltiporpoint which it is given by rotation of thebarrel I The lead 4 may be projected to 'a' round about the lead is comparatively blunt; Iff

the lead is projected more, the pointwhich ity is given is a longer, finer point. To point it, it isonly necessary to rotate the sleeve l around the projecting end of the lead, as has been indi cated by the full and dash line positions of Figure 1, and this gives to the projected end of The interior sleeve 6 may take the form of a cup, disposed at and opening towards the end of the sleeve l which is opposite that wherein is received the abrasive ring 2, and in this cup 6 may be received an eraser 1, within itsmetal cup 10. Such an eraser is cgrnmonly used with such mechanical pencils, and the length of the pencil is increased but slightly by the interposition of the sharpening device. The latterin turn is received within or otherwise securely but removably supported by the open end 5l of thebarrel 5. The latter'may be slit to provide, byits resilience, a friction-tight cupor socket to re-. ceive the sleeve I.

If any part of the sharpener fails to operate properly it is an extremely simple mat-, ter to disassemble it. If the abrasive ring is worn or unduly clogged it may readily be removed and cleaned or a new one substituted.

The entire device is simple, compact, and is available at all times to sharpen, the point of guardbeing apertured for projection of a pencil;

point within the sleeve and into contact with the abrasive coating therein, but the aperture being sufficiently small to engage and block such entrance and contact of the tip of the pencils barrel.

v 2. A pencil point sharpener for mechanical pencils comprising a removable sleeve for securement upon an end of such a pencil, having an abrasive coated inner surface at one end, a guard disposed transversely of and at the entrance to said abrasive coated end, and means supporting said guard for rotation coaxially within said sleeve, said guard being bifurcated from its periphery inwardly to define a generally radially disposed slit of a width to receive the pencil point and to enable. it to engage the abrasive coated surface, but to block entrance of the tip of the pencils barrel.

3. .A pencil point sharpener for mechanical pencils comprising a sleeve open at both ends, a bifurcated guard having a slit only wide enough .to pass. the pencil point, but not. the tip of the pencils barrel, disposed to obstruct the entrance to one end of the sleeve, an abrasive coating within this end of the sleeve, a pivot pin spaced from and coaxial with the sleeve and supporting said guard, andextending thence towards the opposite end of the sleeve, and a pivot bearing member supporting said pin for rotation and preventing its relative endwise movement, said hearing member being received within and supported by the opposite end of the sleeve.

4. A pencil point sharpener for mechanical pencils comprising a sleeve open at both ends, a bifurcated guard having a slit only wide enough to pass the pencil point, but not the tip of the pencils barrel, disposed to obstruct the entrance to one end of the sleeve, an abrasive coating within this end of the sleeve, a pivot pin spaced from and coaxial with the sleeve and supporting said guard, and extending thence towards the opposite end of the sleeve, a pivot bearing member supporting said pin for rotation and preventing its relative endwise movement, and an internal sleeve tightly received within the opposite end of the first sleeve, and supporting the pivot bearing member.

' 5. A pencil point sharpener for mechanical pencils comprising a sleeve open at both ends, a bifurcated guard having a slit only wide enough to'pass the pencil point, but not the tip of the pencils barrel, disposed to obstruct the entrance to one end ofthe sleeve, an abrasive coating within this end of the sleeve, a pivot pin spaced from and coaxial with the sleeve and supporting said its'relative endwise movement, a cup supporting the pivot bearing member, and tightly received within the sleeve, and opening away from the guard, for receiving an eraser.

6. A pencil point sharpener for mechanical pencils comprising a sleeve having an internal abrasive coating at one end, a thin guard, of sheet metal or the like, disposed and formedto obstruct access to such end of the sleeve, and means ,forsupporting said guard for rotation coaxially' of the sleeve, said guard being apertured for projection of a pencil point within the sleeve and into contact with the abrasive coating, but the aperture being sufliciently small to engage and block such entrance and contact of the tip of the pencilsbarrel, and the guard, at the aperture,'being sufficiently thin to permit rocking the pencil to various angles of incidence to the abrasive'coating, to determine'the length and inclination of the point.

. GEORGE, D. MARTIN..' 

